Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)

It is vital that this report be published. Does the Minister of State agree it was his policy to place elderly people in any nursing home with no regard to the consequences or the level of care on offer? This is one of the core issues in the report. Does the Minister of State agree he is damned in this report, along with the Government and senior members of the HSE? His failure to publish this report gives the impression that it is a cover-up. It is important it is published for the sake of Ministers.

I have read the report and see no reason why it should not be published immediately. What are the legal matters that prevent its publication? There seems to be collusion between Ministers and senior members of the HSE to lie to the people. It is unbelievable that the Minister of State has implemented none of the recommendations of the report and that he has not commented on them. No legal matters prevent him from doing this.

How much did the former Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin, know about the situation in Leas Cross and other nursing homes over the past five years? Where are the senior staff of the HSE and former staff of the health boards and what do they have to say about this? They are not named in this report so no legal issues arise. The Minister of State need only worry about his own incompetence, which is scattered throughout the report. The report damns him for doing nothing over the past six years. The report states that Ministers of State were aware of what was occurring as far back as 2000. What briefing did the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, receive in May 2005 as referred to in the report?

What was Mr. Aidan Browne, national director of primary, community and continuing care, referring to when he stated he received no complaints from the clinical staff of St. Ita's visiting Leas Cross? It seems a huge amount of correspondence was sent between one of the doctors in St. Ita's and the HSE regarding the problems in Leas Cross. Was this incompetence or a cover-up? People deserve to know what Ministers and senior staff in the HSE knew. Why are these people remaining so quiet? There are no legal matters to be considered and if there are, they should be explained. There is no reason why the recommendations of the report should not be published. The Minister of State should answer rather than hiding behind lawyers and the Attorney General.

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